Vid conferencing; Yey or Ney? Craving personal connection in business.
I am finding now after ten years of running my design business from abroad (and in a few cities within the States) that I’m sad.
Sad I can not meet with a client, most especially for rush jobs. [Which, for most of us, there are probably many! All the time!]. Anyhow, personally I’ve gotten loads lately and I’m thinking it might be karmic. It must be all the times I’ve asked vendors for work stat (please wink and smile) or rushed someone at another venue for personal goods to be delivered sooner than their standard time.
Of course, if you’re willing to pay for the overtime, most places will accommodate, no problem, right? And of course not pounding your fist on the table helps as well. Kill ‘em with kindness does really have its place…
Anyway, when clients lately have needed projects in one to two week deadlines I’ve felt the pang…more. than. ever. Maybe I’m connecting here with many of you who have similar situations.
I know we live rushed most times but…I want to be able to meet with more of my out-of-town clients! Sort out what they need quickly since their job is needed QUICKly. I love being able to read faces, see the non-verbal and obviously connect with those you work with. And though yes we are all short on time I do really feel right now there being a shift. I don’t know if it’s the economy, my own business or my own personal living in too many cities in ten years but I feel it’s happening…
Though working outside the city where my clients live has normally encountered few ‘issues’ in ten years (we love email, we talk, we snail mail samples, pdf proofs, you name it) I feel quick jobs are hardest for me because I can’t simply meet, see, read each other and get it all out on the table.
Do you PowerMOBbers have ideas; any outside the typical email, phone conversations etc? Video conf is something I’d love to try to service my clients. Would YOU like this as a client? Helpful; Annoying (to make the time for)?
Any thoughts if you HAVE used video conferencing would be so welcome.What are the best ones out there?
I hope this helps not only myself but other PowerMOBbers that might have many clients to service all over the country/world.
Craving personal connections! (which reminds me I need to schedule the next girls night out)
Tags: video conference, video conferencing, working remotely
I can sympathize, Michelle. I have clients in different states & countries, but we rarely ever video conference, mainly because the client rarely has stable working knowledge of videoconferencing via Skype or iChat (I prefer iChat to Skype–it’s been way more reliable on both our end & the client’s end). I’ve used GoToMeeting for group video conferences before and love that, but you really need to use it frequently to get the bang for your buck. I’ve been told that people have used & like Dim Dim (which just got acquired by Salesforce) for video conferencing, but haven’t set up my own account yet to try it out.
Good luck!
This is awesome; thank you Marlynn! I bet so many of us can relate. I see the challenges you are talking about and wonder then if a trip twice a year to certain cities isn’t in order? Again, won’t do much for rush projects but would keep me connected personally to on-going clients. Thanks again…very excited for your ch ch ch changes!